


Reunions

by Desslok



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, Fluff and Angst, Internalized Homophobia, Kate and Max are BFFs, No MJ-NoEvilNathan-NoRoofy4Kate-NoSuicideAttempt, No Mark Jefferson, No Rewind Powers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-22
Updated: 2018-03-26
Packaged: 2019-04-06 12:55:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14057433
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Desslok/pseuds/Desslok
Summary: It's 2019 and time for the Five Year Reunion of the class of 2014.  Kate convinces her BFF Max to attend with her, but Max has unresolved issues with some of her former classmates. Well, one in particular...This will be ChaseField, because that is how I roll.As always, feedback of any sort (kudo or comment) is greatly appreciated and I promise to reply to any and all comments!!





	1. The Five Year

“Fine, I’ll come.”  Max Caulfield cradled her phone against her ear with a shoulder while she typed away at her workstation. She rolled her eyes at the happy squeal her concession had elicited from the other end of the conversation.

“No, just me I think. Thomas said he’d be happy to come if I let you talk me into it, but he’d just be bored….

“I know he’s met you, but only the once….

“Kate, I actually _went_ to the damn school and I barely know anybody! You do remember I only went there a year…

“So, can we share a room? I’d like to save some cash…

“I do but it doesn’t pay that much and I can only handle about twenty hours a week…

“No, twenty hours here at Penneys, I spend the rest working at the gallery…

“They said that maybe they could pay me eventually but hey, unpaid internships are part of the millennial experience, right…

“Shit, hold on…”

Max set the phone down and clicked the speaker on.  “Sorry! I need to get these session appointments logged in the system.”

Kate’s voice drifted out of the iPhone, distant and tinny, “That’s cool, Max. I was just saying that I’d love to share a room. I’ve already made a reservation, so I’ll just call and switch over from a king to two queens.”

Processing her paperwork much more efficiently without the worry of dropping her phone, Max sorted the last of the paper forms into the “To Be Filed” basket. “That’s awesome! You rock, Katiekins. You’ve actually got me almost looking forward to this thing. Are you flying into Seattle? I can pick you up and we can drive down together.”

“I’ll forward my itinerary. I’m so glad you changed your mind, Max! I’ll have to text Warren and let him know. That won’t be weird, will it?”

“Why would it be? If it wasn’t weird right after we broke up, why would it be weird five years later?”

“Umm, it was a little weird, at least right after.”

“I guess, yeah,” Max agreed, recalling the awkward couple of weeks right before Spring Break, after they’d broken up but before that week’s absence had helped them reset back to friends. “But, we were cool for the last part of the year. I don’t think I’ve seen him since graduation, just his nerdy Instragrams. I think he has a girlfriend now anyway, based on the pics he’s been posting.”

“He does,” Kate confirmed. “Her name is Julie and I think he’s bringing her.”

“Do they need a ride, too?” Max asked.

“He’s coming out a few days earlier. He still has family in the area and he wants to visit.”

“Must be serious if he’s bringing the girlfriend to visit!”

“I think it is. I’ve met her once and she seemed really nice, but a bit intense. She reminds me a little of Brooke.”

“Brooke? Oh man, Kate, I haven’t thought about her in years. Remember how much shit she gave me when Warren and I started dating.” Max laughed, recalling the intense nerdy girl from Blackwell. Somehow, even though she and Max barely knew each other, Brooke had sensed that Max’s heart was not in her relationship with Warren. She’d all but done a celebration dance when she’d learned that Max had dumped Warren. “Do you think she’ll be there?”

“I checked the RSVP part of the website and it looks like everyone from our hall is coming,” Kate replied.

“Everyone?” Max frowned, remembering one of the reasons she’d initially decided to skip the five-year reunion.

Though only a disembodied voice, Max imagined she could see the look of concern on her best friend’s face.

“Are you still mad about what happened…”

“Fuck yeah,” Max said, reacting. With a moment’s thought though, she reconsidered. “I mean, not like actively angry but yeah, annoyed? Disappointed?”

“Maybe you could just talk to her and find out why…”

“It’s been five years, Kate, and I have a wonderful boyfriend, so I’m sure I don’t care.”

“You kinda sound like you do still care, though,” Kate offered tentatively, knowing she was in the middle of the minefield and treading lightly.

“I don’t,” Max lied, “but even if I did, it doesn’t matter. I’m not talking to Victoria Fucking Chase!”

~~~

As her 2004 Civic rolled through the streets of Arcadia Bay, it occurred to Max that she’d never actually driven in town. The car had been a graduation gift, but she’d only received it back in Seattle. She and Kate had spent an enjoyable few hours catching up on the drive down from SEATAC. Max had regaled Kate with horror stories from the JC Penney Photo Studio, only most of which involved infants spewing fluids from one end or the other. For her part, Kate recounted the glamorous life of a grad student in Chicago, where she studied Education at Northwestern, close enough to keep in touch with Warren, who toiled in the Institute for Molecular Engineering at the University of Chicago.

“Strange how much development there’s been in just a few years,” Max observed as they passed a gleaming new strip mall where an old fishery had once stood.

“Well, the Pacific Northwest is a popular place to live,” Kate noted. “Lots of these little fishing towns are getting gentrified. Waze says it should be a half mile ahead on the right.”

One check-in, a quick refresh, and a few miles later, Max and Kate pulled into the familiar parking lot at the edge of the dorms. Classes had ended a couple weeks ago, so they knew most of the cars filling the lot must belong to alumni like themselves. “It’s like telling age by the layers in a rockface,” Max said as they got out of the car. Noting Kate’s quizzical expression, she indicated the rows of cars, “I mean, I’m guessing all these old beaters like mine are our class, or else 2009. Those,” she gestured to a series of minivans and SUVs, “probably the 15 year reunion crowd, with their kids. The really fancy ones must belong to the 20 plus years.” Like many colleges, Blackwell held reunions for classes in increments of five years.

Kate laughed, “You might be right, except some of the kids in our class had those kinds of cars while we were there.”

“Yeah, Victoria’s private jet must be parked at the local airstrip.”

The mention of Victoria drew a worried glance, but Max waved it off. She had no desire to rekindle that conversation. While in one sense the five years had flown by, truly a lot had happened since graduation.  Max knew she was no longer the same person she’d been at Blackwell. She’d grown a lot in just her one year there, let alone the four years at U of W or especially this last year of real adulting.

“Did you text Thomas to let him know we made it?” Kate asked, trying to change the subject anyway.

“Geez, Katiekins, he’s not my mom,” Max sighed. “But, fine, I guess I should. He gets antsy sometimes.”

Kate knew better than to comment on the look of annoyance on Max’s face. She ticked another week or two off her internal countdown clock for this relationship. Though they’d only lived together for a year, on the same dorm floor at least, Kate and Max had grown incredibly close and maintained, indeed enhanced, their connection during college through frequent Skype or Facetime calls, summer visits, shared vacations, etc.

Though Max identified as bi-sexual, she’d admitted to Kate on more than one occasion that she generally enjoyed her relationships with women more than those with men. For both genders, though, the one thing sure to prove terminal for Max’s significant others, ever since Warren, continued to be over-the-top neediness. Max had plans for her life, things to do, and, did not react well to clingy partners.

‘She needs someone as independent as she is,’ Kate thought, feeling sorry for poor Thomas. He’d seemed a kind enough fellow, but Kate knew he wasn’t the one for Max. For her part, Kate felt far too busy with her studies to get involved in a relationship.

Having sent her check-in text, Max took Kate’s hand and pulled her along toward the quad, following a slow stream of other arriving alumni. They spent the rest of the afternoon visiting old haunts like Tobanga, various classrooms, etc., stopping to catch up with various acquaintances along the way. 

Daniel had gotten taller, drawing out his formerly pudgy appearance into quite a nice package. He worked as a graphic artist in San Jose for a startup. Stella had done two years of community college and then taken a job as an admin assistant at a consulting shop in San Francisco. She hoped to work her way up to be an Associate soon. Juliet had two more years of law school ahead of her. Dana and Trevor’s oldest was two years old and there was another on the way, due in August.  Their daughter looked just like her mom, a total heartbreaker.

As the sun set over the bay, Kate received a text from Warren that he and Julie had gotten tied up in that famous Seattle traffic and would likely not make it in time for the class dinner.  Unlike the more formal banquets organized by the older reunion classes, the Class of 2014 had sprung for a self-serve buffet under a tent on the football field.  Balancing trays and plastic cups of punch, Kate and Max found a table off in a quiet corner.

“Just like the cafeteria, you and me at the Non-Cool Kids Table in the corner,” Max joked as she sat down. “Shame Warren couldn’t be here to complete the tableau.”

Kate laughed, casting her eyes across the lawn. Of the hundred or so kids in their class, maybe half to two thirds had made it back for their first formal reunion. Unlike Max, Kate had spent three years at Blackwell and thus knew everyone in their class, at least by sight. Five years had done little to change most folks, though Logan’s hairline had suffered some defeats.

“Can you believe that Taylor Christensen is a model? Like a real actual model in magazines?” Max gossiped.

Kate nodded, “I guess I can, I mean, she was the most beautiful girl in the school, at least after Rachel left.”

“Rachel?” Max asked.

“Oh, that’s right, she left before you arrived. Rachel Amber was our resident It Girl, more beautiful than Taylor, more popular than Victoria, friendlier than Dana.”

“Wow, what happened to her?”

Kate sighed, a dreamy look in her eyes. “She eloped with her girlfriend. They ran off together to LA.”

“You’re such a romantic, Kate!” Max teased, nudging her out of her reverie. “And let’s go back a second, Kate. Do you really think that Taylor was the hottest girl in our class?”

Kate blushed suddenly. She rarely talked about her own romantic inclinations or preferences and typically Max respected that and didn’t ask. She had opened this can of worms herself, though. “Well, yes,” she admitted finally. “With that long blonde hair and those sparkly eyes, I mean… if not her, then who?”

Max raised an eyebrow and smirked. “I think my opinion on the hottest hottie in the Class of ‘14 is pretty well known.” She turned her gaze toward a table across the way, gesturing for Kate to look as well. “Speak of the devils. I guess we can reassess our ratings, since they’re sitting together.”

As if sensing eyes upon them, Taylor and Victoria looked up from their conversation and noticed Max and Kate, who barely broke eye contact quickly enough to avoid a charge of staring.

“Oh shit, they’re coming this way,” Max muttered, subconsciously smoothing her hair and straightening up.

“Oh my god! Kate Marsh and Max Caulfield!” Taylor exclaimed. She looked almost exactly the same as she had at Blackwell, with just a touch more polish and elegance. “Our old hall buddies!”

Victoria hung back as Taylor pulled Kate up to give her a big hug.

Max grinned, the only one to notice the flush of red on her friend’s cheeks that this produced. “Hey Taylor, its good to see you,” Max said, getting her own hug in turn. “I mean, in person. I saw you in a perfume ad last month.”

“That’s so sweet!” Taylor gushed. “You guys look great! Kate, I love what you’ve done with your hair. I always used to tell V how pretty you’d be if you just put in some effort.”

“Really?” Max said, laughing in astonishment.

“Oh god!  That sounded horrible!” Taylor turned beet red and rushed to take Kate’s hands in her own. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean it like that, I just meant…”

Kate managed a wan smile. “I know what you meant, Taylor, and thank you. I guess I didn’t really worry too much about my hair or clothes back in high school.”

“You were fine! You had your own Kate style,” Taylor insisted, unconcerned about any logical inconsistencies in her comments thus far. “V, why are you just standing there, come and say ‘Hello.’”

Victoria took a deep breath and joined the circle of young women. “Hello Kate, Max. Glad to see you could make it back,” she said politely. She reached up to brush a stray strand of hair off her eyes, but stopped at the sudden intense look this action drew from Max.

“What’s that?” Max said quickly, nodding toward Victoria’s wrist.

“Hmm? What’s what? Oh, this?” Victoria tugged at the rainbow-colored bracelet. Before she could continue, though, a new person approached their group. A few inches shorter than Victoria, a young woman slid her arm around the blonde’s waist and smiled at Kate and Max. She had wavy, auburn hair and dusting of freckles across her nose, wearing a flannel top and navy blue khakis.

“That’s her pride bracelet,” the stranger announced. “See, twinsies!” She held up her arm to show off a matching bracelet. “They gave them to us as a gift when we graduated.”

“They?” Max asked, holding off on the other 27 questions which had occurred to her in the last thirty seconds.

“The Reed LGBTQ Club. Victoria and I were co-chairs our senior year.”

“Donna, this is Kate Marsh and Max Caulfield,” Victoria said quickly. “Kate, Max, this is my partner, Donna.”

Kate extended a hand to greet the newcomer, but Max took a step back, arms folded across her chest. 

“Pride bracelet?” she said darkly. “LGBQ Club?”

“LGBTQ,” Donna helpfully corrected.

“Co-chair of the LGBTQ Club?” Max went on, her voice cold enough to push Kate and Taylor a step back.

“Max,” Victoria started, “I know how this must…”

“No, you know what? It makes perfect fucking sense,” Max declared with a mirthless smile. “It’s abso-fucking-lutely perfect. Victoria Chase, President of the Gay Club, Standard Bearer for Gay Pride.”

“Max,” Kate laid a hand on her friend’s shoulder, trying to calm the storm.  

Max jerked away, “No, it’s fine, Kate.” She turned to Donna. “I’m sorry, I’m sure you’re great.”

“I don’t understand,” Donna said, turning in confusion from Victoria to Max and back.

“Ask _her_ ,” Max replied curtly. “I’m out. Text me when you’re ready to go back to the hotel, Kate.”

“Please, Max,” Victoria tried, but Max had already stomped off into the darkness beyond the edge of the tent.

“Vicky, what did she mean ‘ask you,’?”

“Hey, let’s go check out the… somewhere else,” Taylor quickly inserted. Taking Kate’s hand, she led her in the optimal direction: away.

Victoria barely noticed either Donna’s question or Taylor and Kate’s sudden departure. Her eyes followed Max’s increasingly shadowy form, but her thoughts slipped back just over five years….

 


	2. Recollections

The first time was after the last AP test. You know how that is, another few weeks of classes, but everyone’s been accepted to college and with the exams done, nothing really matters. Hell, the teachers barely took roll. The Vortex Club…

Yes, that’s what it was called and no, I don’t know why. And yes, I was the Queen Bee. I’ve told you what a Mean Girl I was in high school.

Fuck you, I am not. Well, mostly not.  Shit, if you think I’m that way now, you should’ve seen me in my prime.

Anyway, we started having lots of parties, like two or three a week, as long in between as it took us to get over hangovers and clean up. Nate… yes, that Nate… well, you know between his parents and mine, money was not really an issue.

Yes, I know we were all underage, but you’d be surprised how much shit the Vortex Club got away with here.

Yup, a fucking open bar, at a high school party. Well, for the VIPs only.

I know, I know, Bitch in High School, I’ve already covered that…

I guess I told myself it was because I was drunk. Maybe it was, the first time. Truthfully, I probably was a bit buzzed. Just enough to say ‘fuck it.’ I was so tired of it… You don’t get it, like from Day One, she was all I could think of. I was like obsessed.

I don’t know, it was everything I guess, the whole package. Super hot, fucking awesome photographer, shy, insecure, she hit every fucking button I have.

Yes, I did notice that you and she look a bit alike. I have a type, Ok?

No, that is not why I hit on you. You may both rock that hipster waif thing, but you are nothing alike otherwise.  She wouldn’t even say Boo to me, which just pissed me off all the more. I kept pushing and pushing, waiting for her to push back, stand up for herself, do anything.

Ha! Yeah, hard to believe after tonight, right? That was… new.  I guess she finally found some self-confidence at college or something.

U of W

It was not “too quick” … I have a good memory and like I said, I was a bit obsessed back then, so of course I knew where she’d gotten in. I knew where she applied, who accepted her, who rejected her.

Stalker is a bit… [sigh] on the nose actually.

Yes.. ‘fuck it’ I told myself. I left the VIP Section (I know) and found her out on the dance floor with Kate, Warren, some other randos.

Kate’s the one you met tonight.  Warren is her ex. … No, Max’s ex, not Kate’s.

Bi, duh. Though I didn’t know that then.

Fine, yes, when she stuck her tongue down my throat on the dance floor, I should have figured that out, but like I said, I was buzzed and stupid.

No, I actually kissed her first. I started out just dancing with the group of them. I could tell it freaked them out but I didn’t let myself care. I was so sick of just… just wanting her. The Mean Girl shit had only made things worse. We were a couple weeks from never seeing each other again, so what the hell, right? We danced, then the other randos all took off.

I guess I never really thought about it that way, but yeah, I guess it is kind of odd. Who abandons their friend in that situation?

Yeah right.

Seriously, I doubt that they were “wingmaning” because that would mean that they thought that she…

Fuck.

I fucking hate myself sometimes.

~~~

_‘I can’t believe this is happening,’ Max thought. The lights flashed around them, strobing in time with the EDM beat. She noticed Kate tugging at Warren’s sleeve, then a minute later, she was alone. Alone with Victoria Chase. She should have picked Dare. If she had, she’d never have had to admit to her friends how badly she had it for her bitchy, beautiful neighbor. The one who had spent the first half of first semester mocking her at every opportunity. The one she’d maybe said ten words to since._

_Victoria swayed gently to the music, her eyes locked on Max’s, letting the rhythm draw her closer with each downbeat until she was all but grinding up against her. Max felt Victoria’s breath on her neck, watched stunned as two pale arms snaked their way around her waist and drew her close. She smelled the faint echo of alcohol but couldn’t tell if it was from her breath or Victoria’s. She’d drunk enough to not care, especially not now as the star of her most intimate and private dreams pressed her tight body flush against her own._

_“Maxine,” Victoria whispered, breath hot in Max’s ear. “I’ve wanted you for so long…”_

~~~

I don’t know. Our faces were close, cheeks brushing, maybe I kissed her first, maybe she kissed me. Does it matter? We were stupid, half drunk horny teenagers alone on a dancefloor, surrounded by lights, music, hormones. We kissed and it was everything I’d ever dreamed.

Yeah, my first with a girl.

It felt fucking incredible, like everything suddenly made sense and was right. I don’t even remember how long we stayed there or the trip back, but we made it back to her room and fuck, it was hot.

No, not the first night. We just made out, maybe felt each other up a little bit, tits only. Just holding her, lying on her bed, it was enough.

Well, I guess we both fell asleep, maybe passed out. I woke up first and got the hell out of there.

I don’t know what I was thinking.  No, that’s a lie, I know exactly what I was thinking. I was scared as shit. I think part of me had hoped it was just a phase, or like this stupid itch that I could just scratch once and be done with it, that the feelings would go away and I could be normal again.

I know that now, but back then I didn’t. Like I said, I was a mess in high school.

No. That’s the whole point. If it had just been that once, maybe… I don’t know what would have happened but no, not just once.

~~~

_The first time, Max could chalk it up to the alcohol. Victoria acted no differently, deliberately dodging Max’s feeble attempt to initiate a conversation the next day. Her damn anxiety made it hard enough to talk just normally, let alone start this kind of talk. So much easier to just go back to normal, enjoy the memory as if it had been a vivid dream._

_The next party went by without anything out of the ordinary and Max had resigned herself to the situation. Until the knock at her door afterwards… until the sudden embrace and passionate kisses, the falling backwards onto the bed, hands roaming. A little voice told her that this wasn’t right, but Victoria’s lips felt soft on her own, the bodies melded together like matching puzzle pieces, her skin warm and soft, quivering at Max’s touch._

_They went further the second time. Tops fell to the floor; new and sensitive parts of their bodies explored fully. When Max reached down to undo the button of Victoria’s skirt, the blonde girl started and pulled away, stammering about having an early class._

_Max cursed herself for pushing too far too soon._

_The next day she managed to sputter out an apology in the hallway, but Victoria waved it off and darted away, clearly uncomfortable._

_If that had been the last time, Max would have blamed herself for the rest of her life._

~~~

You know that expression “third time is the charm?”  Yeah, that’s bullshit. I deliberately did everything I could not to think of her, not to consider what it all meant. How much I’d wanted it, how much I wanted her. I threw myself into anything to distract, like planning the graduation party, buying shit for college, even my fucking classes. The teachers didn’t even want to bother. Who the hell cares what seniors in their last week of school do in class. Mostly we watched movies, but I was doing fucking worksheets.

I guess, yeah… the way I left, when she’d made a move down south. I guess she did blame herself.

I don’t know! I wasn’t thinking clearly. Max Fucking Caulfield was saying words… to me!  The fact that she was apologizing was like…

Again, Bitch to End All Bitches. I get it. I know.

I know you didn’t mean it like that, but you should have. I was. She probably _did_ think it was all her fault. Maybe it’s good that it didn’t end like that. At least this way, the blame ended up where it belonged.

~~~

_After midnight, the DJ started playing almost exclusively slow songs, correctly reading the room. The party hounds had long since worn out or departed. The mood of those remaining trended toward romance. Her friends had left, but Max had insisted on staying behind. They knew why, but they didn’t press her. Their concerned expressions kinda pissed Max off anyway. As if she didn’t know how pathetic she was being._

_Dim lights, slow jams, couples clinging to each other as they swayed gently back and forth… and then she was there._

_Victoria said nothing, simply extending a hand. Max took it and let the girl of her dreams draw her forward into the dance. She let the world slip away, refusing to think about anything other than the feel of cashmere on her cheek as she lay her head on Victoria’s shoulder, draping her arms around her waist._

_For eons they danced together, neither speaking a word, just lingering in the feel, the scent, of the other._

_“Come with me to my room,” Victoria finally whispered._

_“Okay.”_

~~~

It was both our first times. Neither of us really knew what we were doing, but we did it anyway. It was… it was incredible.

No, I don’t think so. I’ve had sex just for sex and it was nothing like that.

That’s not fair. You were my girlfriend, official and all.  You know what I mean. Max and I were… I don’t know what we were. The point is, yes, it was wonderful, but different from what we have. You know I love you, babe!

Happy ending, no, not quite. Quite the opposite.

We fell asleep together. The other times we’d been in her room, so I could just slip out in the morning. I know, I know!  Anyway, this time we were in my room, so not an option. I remember waking up and rolling over and just staring at her while she slept. She looked so adorable, so content and part of me just wanted to cuddle her and never let her go.

But, then the rest of my fucking brain kicked in.

It wasn’t like it is now. I know it’s only been five years, but the world has changed a lot with this stuff. You remember how hard it was to come out to my parents, and that was after they’d gotten all “pride” with their gallery. Back then, I had no idea what they’d say. It wasn’t even that, really. I just didn’t think that I could be that way.

Fine, _gay_ I didn’t think I could be _gay._

~~~

_“Tori?” The sudden chill woke Max fully, the removal of the warmth at her side. Sleepily, she opened her eyes to see Victoria standing and hastily donning a bathrobe._

_“Don’t call me that.”_

_“But, I don’t understand. You told me you liked it that I gave you a pet name.”_

_“Well, I don’t.” Victoria turned and faced the window, unwilling to watch the effect of her words on Max. “That’s not what this is. I’m not like that.”_

_“What this is?” Max asked, confused. “Like what?”_

_“I’m not some dyke!” Victoria snapped, unable to stop herself. “I was just drunk. Way to take advantage!”_

_Max sat up, pulling the sheets up over her naked torso. “I didn’t… you weren’t… you didn’t seem…”_

_“It’s fine, I’m not going to press charges or anything. I just… you should go. I need to finish packing.”_

_“Tori… Victoria, what the hell?” Max began groping at the edge of the bed for her clothes, cycling through confusion, anger, and sorrow and back. “I really like you. I wasn’t just using you or something. I thought maybe… I hoped…”_

_“I have no idea what sick ideas you had, but it doesn’t matter. I’m leaving today and you need to just go.”  She turned and dared eye contact. “Please, Max.”_

_Max quickly dressed, not bothering to hide the tears that feel freely down her cheeks. Her eyes never left the floor and without another word she left._

~~~

What do you think I did? I packed my shit, called the movers, and hit the road. That’s what I did. What I _wanted_ to do was collapse on my bed and cry my fucking eyes out, to fucking run across the hall and drop to my knees and beg forgiveness. Or to just burn the fucking gay out of myself so I could be normal.

But what I did was bury all of that, pack it away tighter than my fucking figurine collection, and get on with my life.

Don’t tell me that any of it was understandable. It doesn’t fucking matter why I acted like that. I’ve read the damn pamphlets and watched the YouTube videos. I know it gets better. Hell, it _has_ gotten better. Doesn’t change the fact that I treated someone like fucking shit just for having the fucking nerve to like me.

I don’t know what I thought I would happen. Like we’d just fucking laugh it off as childhood memory.

Yeah, I guess it is still pretty raw… for both of us.

I know, and I’m so glad you’re here with me.

I never told you because I was afraid you’d…

I know that, now. I love you, too.

 


	3. The Tenth Year Reunion

“I know I haven’t RSVPed yet,” Victoria said, apparently speaking to the air. Noticing the quizzical expression on her assistant’s face, she gestured toward her earpiece as she finished tidying up her desk.

“I’m not waiting for anything, it’s just been really busy.” She slipped her jacket on and waved goodbye to her colleagues as she headed for the door.

“The usual. Finalizing the contracts for our next exhibition, haggling over prices for some new pieces Mom wants us to add. My father keeps saying he wants me to learn more, but I think its just an excuse to give me all the crap he doesn’t want to do any more.

“I know, but he’s still years away from retiring and it would be nice to get the fun jobs once in a while.

“Like scouting out new artists in Milan or Paris, for example. I mean, I enjoy the business side of things, but the acquisition part is where the excitement is. Unlike you, I haven’t been to Italy often enough to be bored of it.

“You’re not even 30, how fucked up is your industry that you’re getting too old.  Hold on, I’m getting in the car.” Victoria’s Lexus automatically picked up the phone call once the Bluetooth activated, so she happily removed the annoying earbud.

“I was saying,” Taylor continued, “I know that, but still, that’s how it is. I think my travelling days are mostly behind me. My clock is ticking. None of that is the point, though. We were talking about you coming to our tenth reunion before you so adroitly changed the subject.”

“’Adroit’ is a pretty fancy word for an airhead model,” Victoria teased.

“And again, you’re changing the subject. And Fuck You, by the way.”

Victoria laughed. “Fine, I’ll do it tonight. It is pretty humiliating, though.”

“What is?”

“Coming stag. I can’t wait to explain where my partner is a hundred times.”

“It’s been five years, V, I doubt anyone even remembers you brought a date last time. Besides, it’s a couple months away, maybe you’ll find someone by then.”

“Even if I did,” Victoria noted, “I wouldn’t bring them. Lesson learned, no dates at the reunion.  At best, they’re bored and I’m spending my time worrying about them instead of having fun.”

“So, any prospects? Or are you still in your random hookup phase?”

“And Fuck You,” Victoria replied with a laugh, “it’s not a phase. I just haven’t really had time to meet anyone with work and all.” Before Taylor could reply, though, Victoria seized the opportunity to take control of the conversation. “Speaking of random hookups, did Kate Marsh RSVP?”

Taylor took a moment to reply, which Victoria counted as a minor victory. “One, there was nothing random about that. Two, Fuck You Again. And, three, yes, she did. All the more reason for you to come. I need my best wingman.”

“Wingperson,” Victoria corrected. “And I already said I’m coming. I doubt you really need a wingperson, though. I mean, she’s clearly into you. Didn’t you say she sent flowers to your mom’s funeral?”

“She did,” Taylor sighed. “And she called. It was… nice.”

“I still don’t get why you haven’t followed up,” Victoria said.

“I don’t want the whole long-distance thing,” Taylor admitted. “I mean, she’s sweet and totally my type but it’s not like I was going to run off, abandon my career, and move to Chicago based on just one weekend. It’ll be nice to see her, though.”

“Is Court coming?”

“I don’t know, I haven’t talked to her in months.”

“Me neither. I guess she’s too busy momming to do much else.”

Taylor laughed, “’Momming’ is a pretty lame word for an MBA,” she teased.

“And on that note, I should get going,” Victoria said reluctantly. Hands-free though it was, she did not like talking while on the interstate.

“Fine, but if I don’t see your name on that RSVP list by this time tomorrow, I’ll…”

“You’ll what?”

“I don’t know, but you won’t like it! Take care, V!”

“You too. Love you!”

~~~

Victoria never had any reason to return to Arcadia Bay outside these reunions, so she marveled at the changes the little town had undergone in just the last five years. Rather than head directly to campus, she drove the familiar streets, now lined with unfamiliar buildings and new construction.

‘Nate’s dad really has worked this town over,’ she thought, driving past where that old diner had used to be, where Prescott Towers would soon stand, offering high-priced condos with a view of the bay. Nathan had refused to come to the reunion, as he had last time. Victoria could understand. He’d hated his time at Blackwell, hated who he had been then, before he finally found the right combination of therapy and medicine. She understood, but she could have used him there, with Courtney absent and Taylor likely to be distracted by Kate Marsh. 

Victoria recalled the last reunion: a nasty confrontation with Max Caulfield, followed by some awkward conversations with her then-girlfriend. No wonder she hadn’t signed up right out of the gate.  At least she and Max had spoken since. ‘Spoken,’ really, as their entirely professional conversation barely counted. She’d almost dropped her phone when she’d heard that familiar voice on the other end the first time. When the hell had Max started working at the fucking Gibson Gallery?

Three distinct phone calls, none lasting more than five minutes, but each polite at least. Maybe it would be enough to let them be civil. It had been ten years, after all. Just because Victoria felt like absolute shit every time she let herself remember the end of senior year, didn’t mean Max still dwelt on it.

A few hours later, after arrival, check-in, finding Taylor at their designating meeting spot, and doing the rounds of “what do you do, where do you live, married with kids yet, blah blah blah” with people she wouldn’t have given the time of day in high school, Victoria found herself at the class dinner. No tent for the Class of 2014 this time! No, they’d been upgraded to the old pool/gymnasium! No buffet, either, but actual tables with assigned seats.

Victoria and Taylor took their name tents at the entrance, noting that at least they were at the same table. Back in the day, she’d have had Courtney organize all this, overseeing every aspect to ensure perfection, but now she supposed some random intern in the alumni office had cranked these out.

“Do you think there’s any rhyme or reason?” Taylor wondered.

“Alphabetical?  Seating by dorm and hall?” Victoria theorized. Either would have resulted in them together. She scanned the remaining tent cards for other familiar names, well, one name in particular, but did not see it.

They passed through the curtains, exploring the room beyond for their assigned table.

Taylor gestured to a dark corner. “I think that’s it,” she said. “Looks like someone is there already. Oh shit…”

Victoria followed Taylor’s gesture and saw the reason for the expletive. “Of course,” she murmured. “Come on, no backing out now. It was your idea to come here, you know.” With a smile, she hooked her friend’s arm in her own and dragged her over to Table 5.

She couldn’t observe both and had trouble deciding which would be more interesting, but Victoria had seen Taylor flustered before, so she kept her eyes on Kate as they approached the table. Kate sat alone, though someone’s coat lay across the seat next to her. ‘Fuck, I hope she didn’t bring a date,’ Victoria thought. She knew that no matter how much Taylor denied it, her friend really had been looking forward to this.

Kate Marsh didn’t notice them in the dim light until they were quite close. When her eyes lifted to identify the new arrival, they lit up in a way that made Victoria’s heart soar. Even though that look probably meant that she’d lose Taylor for some portion of the weekend, it was completely worth it.

“Hey Taylor,” Kate said, far more confidently than she’d ever managed back in high school, “Victoria, it’s great to see you guys!”

Victoria hesitated, but when Taylor did not reply, she stepped forward, accepting a friendly hug from Kate. “You too, Kate. I guess it’s been five years.” She pulled away, expecting Taylor to take her place in Kate’s arms. Glancing over, she saw Taylor staring at the jacket next to Kate. “Who are you here with?” she asked, since Taylor clearly had no intention of doing so, but equally clearly needed to know.

Kate’s eyes dropped and suddenly she looked just like she had in 2014, shy, scared. Victoria did not like it one bit.

“It’s mine,” a familiar voice said from behind. “Don’t worry, Taylor, I made sure to save that seat for you,” Max continued in a teasing tone.

“Max!” Kate jumped forward and grabbed Max by the arm, dragging her into the group. “Don’t be silly,” she stammered, now blushing fully.

Taylor’s expression shifted immediately from concern to triumph. “Thanks, Max, I owe you one,” she purred, shifting Max’s coat one seat over and placing her own on the chair next to Kate.  “And you, come here,” she continued, finally approaching Kate. “I’m so glad to see you in happier circumstances.” She tugged the shorter brunette into a warm hug.

As Taylor’s ‘greeting’ lingered a few moments too long, Victoria and Max stood in increasing awkwardness. “Hey Victoria,” Max finally said. “How did that last opening go?”

‘Professional again,’ Victoria sighed inwardly, ‘but at least civil.’ Aloud, she replied, “Really well, thanks to that artist you sent our way. His work is just fabulous.”

“Yeah, just a little outside the parameters of our place,” Max agreed. “I’m glad he found a home at the Chase Space.”

“Chase Gallery and Studio,” Victoria corrected automatically. She knew everyone in town referred to their location as the Chase Space and hated it.

“Sorry,” Max laughed, taking the seat next on the other side of Taylor and gesturing for Victoria to sit. “So, where’s Donna?”

‘She remembers.’ Victoria struggled to interpret this.

“I wanted to apologize to her,” Max went on. “I was kind of a bitch last time. I guess I owe you an apology, too.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Victoria insisted. “That’s the last thing you owe me. We both know who owes whom an apology.”

“It’s been ten years, Victoria,” Max pointed out. “But, thanks.”

“For what, I still haven’t done it. Max, I really am sorry. I treated you like shit because I was a fucking idiot. I didn’t know how to handle it and did about as piss poor a job as I could.”

“Being gay?” Max asked. “I take it you sorted it all out in college?”

“Yeah, I guess. Reed is about as progressive as it gets and there were a lot of resources for kids like me.”

“In-the-closet head cases?”

Victoria glared at Max for a moment but saw the teasing expression on her face and laughed. “Yes, I suppose that’s fair. I wish I was as confident in who I was back then as you were.”

“Ummm, I don’t think that Blackwell Max was all that confident,” Max countered. “But, I guess you’re right in way. At least I was ok with my sexuality.” She paused and grew more contemplative for a moment. “I liked you a lot, you know. It… it really hurt.”

“I know,” Victoria whispered. “And I am sorry. I know that’s not enough, but I am.”

For a moment, neither spoke. Beside them, Kate and Taylor huddled together chatting away as if they hadn’t been apart for five minutes, let alone five years.

“So, Donna?”  Max finally said, trying to get her voice back to ‘conversational.’

“Yeah, that’s been over for a few years actually,” Victoria said.

“Long story, I assume?”

“I guess, though the executive summary is: college sweethearts grow up and apart, different life goals, different choices.”

Max giggled. “I’ve had that relationship. I’m sorry to hear it, though. She seemed nice.”

“She was… is…” Victoria admitted. She did miss Donna from time to time but did not regret how things had turned out. They had both known and it had ended with a lot less misery than many relationships. “How about you? Married yet? Kids? If you say the words ‘fur kids,’ I will shoot you.”

Again, Max laughed. “No, no, and I have a cat, but I know the difference between a pet and a kid, thanks.”

And somehow, it became kind of normal. Dinner was served in courses. The rest of Table Five filled with Stella, Brooke, and Alyssa who mostly kept to themselves beyond basic politeness, leaving Kate, Taylor, Max, and Victoria to catch each other up on their lives.

“So LA?” Taylor said, when the conversation had shifted to Kate. “Why LA?”

“I got an offer there, through a colleague,” Kate informed them. “They need a new headmistress and made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.”

“Head Mistress?” Taylor arched an eyebrow suggestively. “Sounds kinky.”

“Sounds like something on _your_ resume,” Victoria teased. “You’re such a fucking top.”

“It’s nothing like that, of course,” Kate said, blushing. “But it’s a great opportunity.”

“Los Angeles. Isn’t that where you’ve set up shop, Taylor?” Max noted, trying to lend some support to her beleaguered friend.

“That’s right,” Victoria chimed in, grinning. “Taylor’s been living in LA for a year or two now. How nice that you’ll have a ‘friend’ nearby already, Kate!” The word ‘friend’ practically dripped with innuendo.

“Ok, ok, that’s enough from you two,” Taylor interrupted, now blushing herself a little. “Come on, Kate, we don’t need to put up with this treatment.”

Befuddled, Kate silently let Taylor help her to her feet and out onto the dance floor.

“She’s got it so bad,” Max observed, watching Kate float away, lost in her adoration of the woman escorting her.

“Which one?” Victoria asked, smiling as well at the sight.

“Both, I guess,” Max replied, sipping her coffee. The two women sat in silence, watching the action on the dance floor. “This really takes me back.” Max kept her gaze away from her companion, as if talking to the air.

_Dancing with you is one of my happiest memories from high school. I remember how you looked, where you stood, what you wore, the song, everything. I torment myself late at night recalling how your hands felt around my waist, the feel of your soft hair on my cheek, the gentle sigh as my lips touched yours for the first time. Even as other memories fade, that dance never does. That dance, our nights together, and the sight of you scrambling out of my room in tears after I ripped your heart out of your chest and ate it._

Words swirled in Victoria’s head, but she couldn’t say anything beyond, “Yeah.”

The shared silence slowly shifted from companionable to uncomfortable. Victoria felt compelled to take her phone out but resisted. She suspected that checking out like that would end whatever conversation she and Max had been having for good.

‘Ten years, but it feels like yesterday,’ she realized. That crush, the longing which defined her entire senior year, sat on her chest now as heavily as it had back then. Worse, in some ways. Max’s passivity, her obvious social anxiety, those things had annoyed Victoria to no end, but now had vanished, replaced by this cool confidence.

Once she’d learned that Max worked at Gibson, she’d put out some discreet feelers to people in the business. “Up and comer,” “full of potential,” “incredible find,” the reviews flowed back to her about the former intern suddenly rising to the top at one of their top rival studios. Unlike herself, Max had apparently stuck with her photography through college and beyond. Victoria dabbled still, but had drifted to the business side of things, like her father. She loved what she did, but part of her regretted the path not chosen.

She couldn’t help shifting in her seat to take her in more fully. She’d grown her hair longer than she wore it in school, but otherwise, looked much the same. Maybe a few laugh lines at the corners of her eyes, but the same pale skin, the same damnably adorable freckles dusting her button nose. Breathtakingly beautiful, to Victoria.

The blonde’s contemplations were interrupted by a change in music.

“Oh… my… god…” Max said, suddenly perking up. “They are not playing this. I hated this song so much in high school, but for some reason I love it now.” As the familiar sound of “Party in the USA” washed over them, Max sprung to her feet and offered her hands to Victoria. “Come on! You can’t sit through this jam!”

“Whatever, Lamefield,” Victoria responded habitually, even as she stood up and smiled wide.

“You know you love it,” Max insisted, taking her hands and dragging her towards the dance floor and Taylor and Kate. “Put your hands up!” she sang… 

~~~

Many dances later, the evening began winding down for most of the Class of 2014. Max could tell by the look in her friend’s eyes that Kate wanted to go but was also didn’t want to abandon her. Max had given her no end of playful shit after the last reunion even though, in truth, it was Max who had stormed off first. Back at their table, sipping water and recuperating after a stunning rendition of “Gangnam Style”, Max made eye contact with Victoria and subtly gestured toward their two friends. Victoria nodded.

“So, it’s getting pretty late and I bet you’re tired after flying in this morning, right Kate?” Max said.

“But Max, we still need to talk about that… that exhibition for the Seattle Art Festival,” Victoria chimed in. “Taylor, can’t you give Kate a ride back to the hotel? I’m sure Max won’t mind.”

Kate rolled her eyes at her friends’ obvious ploy but did turn a hopeful gaze towards Taylor. “I am a little tired,” she agreed.

“You guys are as subtle as a ton of bricks,” Taylor muttered under her breath. “Come on, Katie, let’s get out of here.” After a round of farewell hugs and half-formed plans to meet up in the morning, Kate and Taylor swept out of the gym, leaving Max, Victoria, and a handful of others.

“Reminds me of our first dance.” Max broke the silence. “Kate clearing the area when you came over to dance with us.”

“With you,” Victoria corrected so quietly that Max had to strain to hear. “It was only ever about you.” She stood up and offered Max a hand. “Shall we?” As so long ago, the DJ had shifted to slow dances exclusively at the end of the evening.

Max sat, looking up, a pensive expression on her face. Victoria shifted from one leg to the other, letting her hand drop. “Max… I’m sorry… “

“Don’t be,” Max replied, gazing up with her heart in her eyes. “I just… I want to… to dance… just… tell me... tell me it will be different this time. All this, back here… it’s just brought it all back and…”

“Max…”

“No, please, let me finish,” Max said quickly. “I liked you so much and it hurt so bad at the end and being here, remembering it all, if this is just a one-night thing or the heat of the moment or something… I just can’t.”

“Maxine,” Victoria kneeled down to get to eye level, “I was an idiot and I can never undo how I treated you. Ten years is a long time and I know we’ve both changed a lot, but… fuck, Max, I still… like even now after all this time, I just want…”

She took a deep breath and stood up again. “I’m almost thirty. I’m not interested in one-night things or moments. I’m looking for something real, something more. I don’t know if this,” she gestured to the two of them, “is that, but I think maybe it could be. And I want to see...”

“Tori…” Max whispered, standing and taking Victoria’s hands in her own. “I… I’d like to see too.”

Together, they strode to the dance floor, hand in hand, to see what the future would bring.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, I think that's it, though I hold out the option of adding a 15th Year postscript which would be full of adorable fluff. I've updated the tags to remove "smut" since that didn't end up happening. Sorry for anyone who was looking forward to that!


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